Talk
by tvspygrrl
Summary: Post Bridesmaid's Revisited Lorelai and Luke talk.


Luke has always loved the peace and quiet of his apartment. After a long day in a diner full of loud customers and the clanging and crashing of plates, the stillness upstairs has always been a relief.

But tonight, the stillness of the apartment betrays him. Instead of comforting him, it is just a heavy reminder of who isn't here. In fact, it holds barely a trace of her anymore. With work completed on the house, they have spent little time in his apartment, and slowly all of her belongings have made their way back to the house.

He wanders aimlessly around his apartment, trying to find anything that might reconnect him to her. Gone is her cinnamon toothpaste. Gone are the silly magazines she would read while cuddling with him as he watched ESPN. Even the television he had bought her so she could watch Patrick, no Jon Stewart was gone. Lorelai had insisted Luke bring it over to the house for her new sewing room. Something about not wanting to miss Flava Flav or something, whatever that meant.

The only reminder of her is the blue flannel. Luke found it a couple weeks ago stuffed behind the couch cushion. It ended up there after one of their wilder nights. Looking at it now, Luke can't help but smile. It reminds him of a different time in their relationship. When everything was new and fresh and wonderful. Before everything got so complicated. Before Luke found out he is a father.

He knows he's handled it all wrong. He knows he shouldn't be sitting alone in his half-empty apartment -- he _should_ be with his fiancé. But instead he's pushed her away. They were in a good place after Martha's Vineyard. They talked--really talked. But the progress they made was fleeting. The second they returned to Stars Hollow, everything went back to the way it was before. And Luke has been at a loss as to what to do about it.

And then there was Zach. Zach with his stupid ring proposed to Lane. And Lane with her stupid grin on her face said yes. But it wasn't stupid. It was two people who love each other getting over the past to have a future. They were going to get married -- despite her mother, despite his past mistakes. It all sounded so familiar, and suddenly Luke knew the solution. He left his hideaway and made his way to Lorelai's.

Luke was in trouble. This much he knew. And if it took Zach, of all people, to teach him that lesson, then, he was in even bigger trouble than he thought.

Lorelai has always loved hitting the open highway and blaring the tunes. But tonight, she wished the circumstances were better. It killed her to know that Logan broke her daughter's heart once again. Rory assured her she would be okay, but Lorelai's 'mommy sense' kicked in. She and Rory were still redefining their relationship, and unsolicited advice was still a hairy topic, but Lorelai refused to sit idly by any longer. So she jumped in the car and headed for New Haven.

Of course deep down she knows she took off because she couldn't stay in the house any more. Luke's imprint is everywhere: on the oven he fixed more than once, on the locks he fixed several times, in the paint colors he helped her pick out, in the chain he put on the front door. But nowhere does Lorelai feel him more strongly than in the bedroom. He's in the furniture they picked out together. His clothes are everywhere. Hell, she can smell him in the sheets. The smell that use to lull her to sleep, now only manages to prolong her insomnia. So at the first chance to flee, she took it. Maybe it isn't Rory right now who needs to be consoled.

It's not that she doesn't love Luke. It's not that she doesn't want to marry Luke. She just doesn't know how to be around Luke anymore. What she wouldn't give to get things back the way they were before. Before April, before Rory's time away from Yale, before Chris, before Emily interfered… Back when they still knew how to talk to one another.

She knows she is handling it all wrong. She shouldn't be driving to New Haven. She should be with Luke. She thought giving him space was the right thing to do. And it was. But now things have just gotten out of hand, and she doesn't know what to do anymore. He reassured her at the vineyard that they would get married and she believed him. But then whatever momentum they had built came to a screeching halt the second they stepped back into the diner. He once told her to keep thinking the way she thinks, but Lorelai doesn't know what she thinks anymore.

And then GiGi came along. GiGi with her high pitched screaming and silly duvet cover. She told Chris what she thought about his daughter. And he yelled. But later, when he called her, Lorelai realized that she talked and he listened. But it was the wrong daughter and the wrong father. And as Lorelai made a u-turn and headed back to Stars Hollow, she knew she found a solution.

Lorelai was in trouble. This much she knew. And if it took GiGi of all people to teach her that lesson, then, she was in even bigger trouble than she thought.

Luke slowly made his way back to the diner. He had been disappointed to arrive at the house and find Lorelai's jeep gone. He thought about calling her cell, but this was something he needed to do in person.

As the diner came into view, he saw her jeep pull up and Lorelai get out. He found himself jogging to meet up with her.

"Lorelai."

Lorelai jumped and quickly turned around, nearly bumping into Luke. "Hey, I was just coming to find you."

"I was just coming from your place actually."

"Oh." Lorelai paused for a moment, trying to figure out where to start. She chose the direct approach. "Luke, we need to talk."

"I know. Do you want to come in?"

"Will you make me some coffee?"

"You bet."

Lorelai quietly followed Luke into the diner. He turned on a few lights as he made his way behind the counter. Lorelai knew she should say something, but chose to draw strength from watching Luke make coffee instead. Long before she and Luke even knew one another she liked to watch him behind the counter. He was so methodical. The way he carefully filled up the coffee pot with water and poured it into the machine. The way he seemed to know just the right amount of coffee to add to the filter. As the coffee started to brew Luke turned around to face Lorelai as she sat at a stool.

"So, you wanted to talk."

"Luke, you know I love you, right?"

He nodded, urging her on.

"Good, because I just want you to remember that, okay?"

"Okay."

"Today, you know how I watched GiGi? Well she's the devil's spawn in case you were wondering. And I told Chris as much, which of course he took beautifully. So he yelled and I yelled and that was that. And it got me thinking about us."

"Lorelai, I'm having a hard time following."

"Don't you see Luke? I watched _Christopher's_ kid today. And then I gave him advice on how to raise his kid. And he didn't like it, but we talked and he took my advice and we are going to fix the problem. But I don't want to help with GiGi. She's the wrong kid."

"The wrong kid?" Luke shakes his head in frustration.

She let's him linger, needing Luke to realize it on his own. Finally he responds, "You mean Rory? You want to help him with Rory?"

Lorelai lets out a disappointed sigh. "No Luke, I don't want to help Chris at all. I want to help you. With April."

"You do?"

"Yes, Luke. As much as I'm happy to have stopped the second coming of the bad seed, Chris isn't the guy I want to be helping. Who I need to be helping."

"So you want to help me? Help me with April?"

"Yes Luke, why would you think I wouldn't want to help you? I told you I would."

"I know, but I didn't want to burden you with it. But now I realize by not having you help I made everything worse." A look of understanding crosses Luke's face, and he takes his turn at being honest, "You know Zach proposed to Lane."

"Ok, wow. Way to switch to a new topic, mister. Lane and Zach? How? When?"

"Today, right here in the diner. And she said yes. And it made me think about when you proposed to me. How despite everything happening, we were going to get married. How it was you and me against the world." He paused for a moment, then continued, "I feel like it is still that way, but we're fighting different battles."

"Wow. Zach and Lane." Lorelai muttered, still trying to process the first part of Luke's revelation.

"Listen, Lorelai. I know things have been terrible between us lately. And it's my fault for taking you for granted."

"Well it's my fault too, for letting you do it."

"I want to get us back on track. And I'm not sure how to do that or how long it will take."

"Hey, I'm not going anywhere. And now that I know what battle we are fighting, I think we can get there together."

"Good."

As Luke turned to get Lorelai her coffee, she thought about what Luke had just said. It made her realize that things had been just as hard for Luke as they had been for her. He was right. They were a team. Even before they got together they had been there for each other. And somewhere in their need to not lose each other they had forgotten that. But she vowed to never let them forget that again.

"Here you go," Luke said as he placed her mug in front of her. Before he could remove his hand Lorelai covered it with both of hers. "Thank you, Luke."

"Any time." He knew she wasn't talking about the coffee. And neither was he.

After taking a sip Lorelai looked up at Luke and said, "Hmmm. I miss this."

"You had some this morning."

"Not the coffee. Sitting at the diner late at night, just you and me and a cup of coffee. I can't remember the last time we did this. We use to talk about anything and everything then."

"Well we should start doing it more often then."

"Dirty!"

"We certainly have a lot to talk about."

"That we do."


End file.
